Manchester United and Fulham competed in a thrilling game contested at Craven Cottage. The game took two dramatic turns in the last ten minutes. The game ended in a 2-2 tie, a deserved point for each team. Fulham yet again has stymied Manchester United at Craven Cottage.
Manchester United jumped out to an early lead in the 11th minute, when Paul Scholes, from 30 yards out, drove a low strike into the corner of the net. Scholes received a perfect pass from Dimitar Berbatov, who had his back to the goal. Scholes has been terrific early on this season.
Fulham had some chances to score in the first half but failed to. United keeper Edwin Van der Saw made several key saves in the game, but Fulham goalkeeper David Stockdale was just as good. Stockdale would make the most important save of the match late in the game.
Simon Davies tied the game for Fulham in the 57th minute. Damien Duff started the attack by beating Patrice Evra with a nice move, then gave the ball to Zamora, who fed Davies. Davies had a nice finish, securing the ball in the back of the net.
The two teams looked evenly matched until late in the game. United took the lead in the 84th minute, when a corner from Ryan Giggs defelcted off Brede Hangeland and into the back of the net. Horrible moment for Hangeland, scoring an own goal is the worst for a defender. He would get his revenge, however.
Manchester United blew a chance to go up two just two minutes later. A penalty was awarded to United, when Damien duff had a ball hit his thigh then deflect off his hand in the penalty area. It looked as though United would surely earn three points from this game. Nani was chosen to take the shot, and he hit a strike towards the goal post. Stockdale made a great save on the shot, but really Nani should have done better.
Fulham would make Manchester United pay for missing that chance to extend their lead. Duff again was involved in Fulham's equalizer in the 89th minute. Duff guided a corner into the heads, and Brede Hangeland put the header past Van der Sar. Fulham fans rejoiced as Brede Hangeland certainly redeemed himself from his mistake just five minutes earlier.
Fulham showed great resilience, coming back to tie the game twice. They showed they can really battle with the top clubs at home. Traveling to Craven Cottage is never an easy experience for any club and Fulham proved that today. As for Manchester United, this might be one of those games they look back on at the end of the season if they don't win the league.
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